Page 30 of Forged By Fire

She began their search while he took pictures of the room from different angles, followed by multiple pictures of the blood stain on the floor. He imagined Danny lyingthere and Leslie trying to figure out how to get him out of the warehouse before he bled out or the structure collapsed on top of them.

It was odd that the suspect hadn’t gone on to shoot Leslie as soon as Danny fell. He also could’ve come back and picked her off like a sitting duck while she was tending to her partner. Either he wanted Leslie alive, Danny really was his primary target, or he was too concerned about getting out before the police arrived to care about anything else. Whatever the case, Clint sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she’d been spared.

His radio crackled to life. “This is Carrington. Smith and I found a storage closet. A bucket was turned upside down like a stool, and there are numerous empty water bottles and food wrappers on the floor. There’s also a digital scanner. The battery is dead, but I’m willing to bet it was tuned into the fire station.”

Paris’s voice was next. “He got into the warehouse at some point, then must have waited in the storage closet until most of the employees had left for the day. He started the fire. Maybe he came back to the closet again until he heard the fire department arrive?”

Had the shooter waited for most of the employees to leave because he’d wanted fewer people to be potentially injured in the fire? Or because there would be less people to spot him when he tried to make his escape?

Paris’s theory was a sound one, but something didn’t quite add up for Clint. “This guy has been meticulous about not leaving evidence, and yet he left all of that behind. It doesn’t track.” He continued to search for the casing as he listened to the radio conversation.

“Maybe he meant to come back and couldn’t. Or hethought it was all going to go up in flames and take care of the evidence for him,” one of the other officers replied.

“Take pictures of absolutely everything and then bag it all,” Paris ordered. “We’ll take it back to the lab and go through it.”

“Understood.”

The radio went quiet again.

Clint looked across the room where Leslie was stooped as she looked for the casing beneath the table.

Sensing his gaze, she lifted her chin and paused. “Even if he wore gloves the whole time he was waiting and eating, there’s still a chance the lab can find DNA, right?”

“Absolutely. On the rims of the water bottles, if nothing else.”

She gave a hopeful nod and went back to her search.

Clint had no doubt they’d find some DNA, but unless the shooter was already in the system, it wouldn’t do them much good now. However, once they caught the guy, they could use the DNA to irrefutably put him at the scene of the crime.

“Hey, Clint? Check this out.”

She’d shifted her search to the small cabinet that supported the coffee maker and microwave. She was shining her flashlight at the base, and that’s when Clint realized it was on wheels.

He got down on the floor with her and looked beneath it. On the far side, next to the wall, was something shiny. It could certainly be a bronze casing.

“Awesome job, Leslie. Let me get a picture of this cabinet and its location, then we’ll roll it out of the way and see what we’ve got.”

They had to move the table and chairs in order to have enough room to shift the cabinet down. Once they did andgot a closer look, there was no doubt it was the bullet casing they’d been searching for.

Clint got several photos showing where it’d been found, then some macro shots as well. When he was satisfied, he pulled a glove from his pocket, put it on, and got a plastic bag out of another pocket.

“Wow, you’re prepared.”

He smiled. “I do my best.” With the opening of the bag on the floor next to the bronze casing, he used a gloved finger to gently nudge it inside then sealed the top. “There we go.” Clint spoke into his radio, “Granger found the bullet casing. I’ve bagged it, and we’re on our way out.” He didn’t see any reason for her to spend more time in the warehouse than she’d already had to endure.

“Nicely done.” Paris sounded encouraged. “You and Granger head back to the entrance. All other teams should do the same once you’ve finished searching the room you’re currently in.”

“Understood.” Clint clipped the radio back to his belt and put a hand against Leslie’s back. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

“Gladly.”

He felt the slightest shiver in the muscles of her back as she leaned into his touch. She’d been an absolute trooper coming back here after all she’d been through. Now all he wanted was to get her out of the warehouse and back into the sunshine where she belonged.

Chapter Seventeen

Leslie tilted her face toward the sky and closed her eyes as she welcomed the warmth of the sun on her skin. She’d truly dreaded going back into that warehouse. But she did it, and they found the evidence they’d gone in for.

Clint had kept a hand against her back all the way out of the warehouse. Now, he lightly bumped her arm with his. “Are you okay?”

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